Improvement in insect-destroyers



J. C. MELCH-ER.

INSECT-DESTROYER.

No. 191,360 Patented May 29,1877.

INVENT'UR N.FEIERS, PHOTO LITHOGRAFMEK Wzsmms'rc'n, u c

ATENT JOHN G. MELOHER, OF OQUINN, TEXAS.

IMPROVEMENT IN INSECT-DESTROVERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. l9l,360.' a May 2 18775 application filed April 25, 1871.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN G. MELGHER, of OQuinn, in the county of Fayetteand State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inInsect-Destroyer; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention,

such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains tomake and use it, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, whichform part of this specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in ant and insect destroyers; andit consists in the arrangement and combination of devices that will bemore fully described hereinafter, whereby smoke and poisonous vapors canbe forced down into the holes of the insects so as to destroy them.

The accompanying drawings represent my invention.

I first dig a suitable-sized trench in the ground, in which the fire isbuilt. Over the top of this trench a are laid two or more plates, b,each one of which has a suitable opening, 0, through it, and is providedwith a plate, 0, to close the said opening. By using two or moreseparate plates, instead of one long one, they can be adjusted to suitthe size of the trench, and, by means of the holes 0, the fire can beinspected at any moment without having to uncover the trench. One end ofthe trench is connected with a hose, or pipe, that leads from a bellows,air-pump, or any other air-forcing apparatus, by means of which acurrent of air is kept flowing through the trench so as to not only keepthe fire burning briskly, but to force the smoke and gases out at theother end of the trench. Over the exit end of the trench through whichthe smoke and gases are driven is placed the perforated piece of sheetmetal d, which has sharp ends or points 6, for forcing into the ground,so that it cannot be easily displaced. This plate serves to arrest anycinders, dirt, or other particles which may be blown from the fire, andwhich might have a tendency to clog up the insect-holes and thus preventthe smoke or vapor from being forced down into them. To still furtherprotect the mouths of the holes from being stopped up by dirt, cin ders,or other particles, a perforated cupshaped cover, 9, is placed over thetop of each hole, the holes in the top of each cover being smaller thanthose in the plate d.' Over the exit-mouth of the trench, and the mouthof one or more of the ant-holes, is placed a smOkechamber, h, of anysuitable size and construction, which forms a reservoir for the productsof combustion as they are forced from the trench. The edges of thischamber are forced down into the earth and then packed so as to preventthe escape of the smoke, and then the chamber is weighted so as to holdit securely down. As a general thing, two or more ant-holes are foundtogether, so that a single chamber will cover all at once, in which casesmoke and vapor can be forced into them all at the same time. In someinstances it may be advisable to first bore a passage-way down to theant-chamber in the ground, and then force down the smoke and vapor.

If desired, sulphur or some poisonous compound may be thrown into thefire that will make the smoke poisonous as well as suifocating, and thusmake the destruction of the insects'still more certain.

I am aware that it is not new to force poisonous gases, generated byburning some chemical upon a fire, down into the holes of insects oranimals, for the purpose of destroying them, and this I disclaim.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. The method described ofkilling ants and insects by building a fire in a trench in the ground,covering the same, and then forcing the products of combustion into aremovable smoke-chamber, and thence into the ground, substantially asshown.

2. The removable smokechamber h, in combination with the fire-trench a,and an airforcing device, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination of the perforated plate 01 and portable smoke-chamberh, as described.

4. The combination of the plate 01, smokechamber h, and covers 9, withthe fire-trench and air-forcing apparatus, substantially as specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing, I

have hereunto set my hand this llth day of April, 1877.

JOHN G. MELOHER. Witnesses:

W. BOLLMEIEB, JOHN F. MELoHER.

